Boiler



Aug. 3, 1937. A. B. BLOME BOILER Filed Nov. 14, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l 'INVENTOR BY 41/6057 5. BLOME.

A'ITORNEY A. B. BLOME Aug. 3, 1937.

BOILER Filed Nov. 14, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 3, 1937. A. B. BLOME 2,088,940

BOILER Fiied Nov. 14. 1935 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR v #06 067? 8. Bur/v6.

Patented Aug. 3, 1937 2,css,940%

PATENT OFFICE BOILER August B. Blome, Mount Vernon, N. Y., assignor to The Superheater Company, New York, N. Y.

Application November 14, 1935, Serial No. 49,706

5 Claims. (01. 122460) The present invention relatesto boilers of the locomotive type and has for its general purpose the improvement of such boilers. The more specific form of suchboilers with which the inven- 5 tion is concerned is one in which there is a water-tube fire-box followed by a fire-tube section located forward of it- The detailed points of improvement will become clear from a reading of the following specification.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In these, Fig. l is a lateral elevation of a locomotive with a boiler in accordance with my invention showing the general disposition of the various parts.

Fig. 2 is anenlarged View, partly in lateral elevation and partly in central longitudinal section of the rear portion of the locomotive. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 4 is a section on line' 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 5 is a sectional View of a valve used in the arrangement.

Referring first to the general arrangement as indicated in Fig. 1, the fire-box section is designated by the reference character A and the fire tube section by the reference character B. Above them and extending from the rear end of the fire-box to the forward end of the fire-tube sec tion is a drum C. Between the fire-box section A and the fire-tube section B is located the superheater D. In the particular form shown, an air preheater is located at El forward of the fire-tube section, the air preheated in it being conducted to thefire-box by means of the duct It is necessary in modern locomotives to provide ample combustion space in the furnace. The lateral limitations imposed by the track clearances are very severe and volume can be added only by extending the fire-box and com-- have been generally in the past for insuring rapid circulation through "them', a great number of joints has resulted to connect the numerous tubes to the upper and lower manifolds or headers;-

This: number has been cut down at times by bifurcating the tubes making. up thewater wall.

This is sound engineering lem; of leaks at the joints from unequal expansion is serious.

JVI am aware that attempts have been made in the past, to place the tubes constituting the wall androof of the combustion chamber hori- 10 zontally or approximately $0. In one case in particular this has been done, the tubes sloping upward in a forward direction to ensure circ'ulation. The length of tubes which can be used in this construction is evidently strictly liml5 ited. The circulation must be very lively to protect the tubes sufilciently and if the tubes are made beyond a certain length, the inclination cannot be sufficient to insure such circulation.

"In the arrangement according to my invention the tubes constituting the side Walls and roof of the fire-box are placed horizontally and are preferably bifurcated. Their ends are expanded into the r'ear header l and front header 3 (see Fig. 2). At the points where they are expanded into these headers, these tubes are single as indicated at 5and 1. Throughout the greater part of their length, however, they are bifurcated as at 9. They are arranged to enclose a space which in transverse section has the form of an inverted U, the two legs of which constitute the side walls and the top of which constitutes the roof of the fire-box. By bifurcating them as described and placing the two tubes constituting the several units into the upright and horizontal planes, these tubes can be grouped closely enough to constitute a substantially continuous wall and roof. There will of course outside of them be a further closure as indicated at H and 13.

The rear end is closed by a refractory Wall 15 with a suitable opening 11 for firing.

The grate is located at 19.

At the forward end the single tube portions of the elements in the two walls are preferably made of considerable length as shown at la. As a result, these tubes in this forward portion will be spaced apart. This'isdone to provide means for installing and supporting the superheater elements which are made of special design for this 50 purpose. These superheater elements are securedat their inlet ends to a header 2| and loop through'between adjacent tubes 1a across the combustion chamberg The left hand end (as viewed in Fig. 4)"of these loops rests on the tubes 55 la on the left hand side. Each superheater element therefore comprises a plurality of horizontal loops arranged in a vertical row. The lower ends of the elements are bent toward and are secured to the lower header 23. From this header the steam is conducted through the throttle 25 to the steam pipe 21 which carries it to the two steam chests.

Forward of this water tube section just described, there lies the fire-tube section B. This is made up of a cylindrical sheet 29 and two tube sheets, the rear of which shows at 3|. Extending between these two tube sheets are the fire tubes 33 which conduct the hot gases forward through this fire-tube section into the smoke-' box, through which they pass in any preferred manner to the stack 35. t

The drum C extends as' stated above over both the water-tube section and the fire-tube section. In the particular form shown, there is only one drum, centrally located, but this can obviously be varied by having two drums, one on each side. The forward portion of the drum C is preferably flattened as at 31 to be secured to a. correspondingly flattened spot on the fire tube section. The drumC communicates with the fire tube section through openings 39. 42 indicates the normal water level in the drum. above this water level downward. through the drum wall and the wall of the fire-tube section and terminating inside of the fire-tube section but adjacent to its highest point, are tubes 4|. Any desired number ofthese can be provided. Their function is to conduct steam which forms in the fire-tube section into the steam space of the drum C. The object of the openings 39 on the other hand, is to permitdownward fiow of water from the drum C to the fire-tube section B. At their rear end communication between the water tube section and the drum is established by means of a series of tubes 43 arranged in any preferred manner, but so that ample area is provided for the fiowof the mixture of steam and water from the water-tube section to the drum.

From fire-tube section B to water-tube section A there is provided a connection 45. In this connection there is a steam-driven pump 41. This pump forces water out of the fire-tube section into the forward end of the water-tube, section and its capacity and normal rate of operation are such that preferably 5 to '7 times as much water is circulated through the water-tube section as is evaporated in it. This results in a rapid protective circulation through the water tubes of the fire-box section and in a good distribution of water among them. The water, together with the steam generated in the water tubes, is delivered into the drum '0' through the connections 43 and in the drum the steam separates out and the excess water returns through openings 39 to the fire-box section. The steam is taken by means of the connecting tubes 49 to the superheater header 2|. 7

Feed water is forced into the boiler by pump 5|. It reaches this pump from the tender through pipe 53 and'is, delivered to the feed,

water heater 55 by means of a connecting pipe 51. From this feed water heater it is conducted to the boiler by means of pipes 51, three-way valvelil and pipe '58.

It is essential that the water tubes in the water-tube fire-box be protected by positively circulating water through them. Should the pump 41 fail, this circulation would cease and a dangerous situation would at'once'arise. To'take Extending from a point care of such a situation, I make the following provision. I connect the pipe 45 to the threeway valve 5| by means of the connecting pipe 59. This three-way valve 6| is normally set as indicated in Fig. 5. Communication is thereby established through the pipes 51 and 58 and communication from 51 to 59 is interrupted. Should the pump 41 break down, the three-way valve is set so that communication is established between 51 and 59, and pipe 58 is closed off. With such a setting of the valve, the feed water is delivered directly into the water-tube section, circulates through it and is delivered into drum C and thence to the fire-tube section. To prevent the water under these conditions from flowing back through pump 41 into the fire-tube section B, a check-valve 40 is provided.

The circulation through the water tubes is of course very much slower under these conditions and the whole situation is one of emergencythe locomotive can be operated, but only at very reduced rating. This will, however, enable the engineer to move his train to the nearest point where repairs can be made.

The essential features as will be gathered from the above are that by my arrangement horizontal water tubes of any desired length can be utilized for constructing the side and top walls of the fire-box. A positive and enhanced circulation through these water tubes is provided and in case of failure of this rapid circulation, a slow but nevertheless positive circulation for the emergency is provided.

Obviously, in practicing my invention some variations from the form described above in detail will occur without any real departure from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a locomotive, a fire-box section comprising front and rear headers and horizontal water tubes connecting them and forming the side and top walls of the fire-box, the tubes of the side walls being bifurcated for the major part of their length from the rear header forward but single for a distance adjacent to the front header, and a tubular superheater comprising tubes extending across the forward portion of the fire-box and resting on said single tube portions.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, the superheater comprising a plurality of elements each made up of loops connected by return bends extending around the outer side of the single tube portions on one side of the fire-box, whereby the elements can be inserted and withdrawn without disturbing the water tubes.

3. In a boiler, a first steam generating section, a second steam generating section, a steam-andwater drum located higher than both of said sections, means including a pump for creating a positive circulation from the first boiler section through the second boiler section to the drum and back to the first section, means to conduct steam directly from the first section to the drum, means to deliver feed water to the first section, means to take steam off the drum, and means to bypass the feed water around the first section directly to the second section.

4. A boiler in accordance with claim 3, the first steam generating section being a fire tube section, and the second steam generating section being a water tube section with horizontal water tubes surrounding the fire box on its two sides and top.

5. In a locomotive boiler, a fire-box section comprising front and rear headers and horizontal water tubes connecting them and. forming the side and top Walls of the fire-box, said water tubes being of a length no less than fifty per cent of the total boiler length, a. fire-tube boiler section forward of the fire-box section, means to deliver feed water to the fire-tube section, and means to circulate water from the fire-tube section through the fire-box section in a direction counter to the flow of the heating gases comprising a connection from the fire-tube section to the front header, a connection from the rear header to the fire-tube section, and a. pump in 5 one of said connections.

AUGUST B. BLOME. 

